Faith and War: Three Christian Perspectives

The war in Iraq? A Christian response to it. What should the church do?

If you’re interested in these questions, here’s a heads up to all of you out in Aurora-Batavia Illinois area. The Congregational Church of Batavia is putting on a conference on “Faith and War” tomorrow, Saturday October 13th. I’ll be representing the Christian Pacifist position and Prof Jeff Greenman from Wheaton College will be speaking on behalf of Just War. There will also be a Marine Colonel there to give his perspective.

It all starts tomorrow at the Batavia library at 9 a.m. It should be spirited and intense. And it’s free and open to the public. You can get directions and find out more about it here (scroll down).

Tip the Author & Support Our Ministry!

Thank you for supporting this author and Missio Alliance’s ministry of online publishing! All our authors graciously volunteer their time and expertise in creating resourceful articles such as this. Your generosity makes it possible for their voices and perspectives to reach and influence Christian leaders all around the world.

From #GivingTuesday (Nov. 27) through the end of the year, half of any donation you make will go directly to this author while the other half will support Missio Alliance and our Writing Collective platform in particular.

Donations in any amount are greatly appreciated!

$Donation Amount:

Would you like this contribution to go to a certain area?

Select Payment Method

Credit Card

eCheck (ACH)

Personal Info

First Name *

Last Name

Company Name

Email Address *

Comment

Credit Card Info

This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

Card Number *

CVC *

Cardholder Name *

Expiration *

Billing Details

Country *

Address 1 *

Address 2

City *

State*

Zip / Postal Code *

Donation Total:
$5

Comments

By commenting below, you agree to abide by the Missio Alliance Comment Policy.

Missio Alliance Comment Policy

The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.

Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:

1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.

If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.

2. Seek to make your own voice heard.

We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.

3. Share your story.

One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.

In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.